Husband Sues Hospital in Wrongful Death and Malpractice Case, Claiming Sponge Left in Wife's Body Led to Her Death

Share

Husband Sues Hospital in Wrongful Death and Malpractice Case, Claiming Sponge Left in Wife's Body Led to Her Death

By
Wais Vogelstein Forman & Offutt LLC
|July 21, 2014

A lawsuit concerning the death of a woman who died over four years ago
in 2010, after undergoing surgery, has recently reached trial. The plaintiff
claims that his wife’s death was the direct result of a surgical
sponge being left inside her gut following a 17-hour surgery. The trial
in this wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit against the surgeon,
hospital, and other medical staff is projected to continue for at least one week.

Details from a news
article written in the Dayton Daily News states the extensive surgery took place
in February 2009 at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio by a performing
surgeon who was part of the Wright State Physicians network. Although
the operation lasted nearly three quarters of a day, it was never truly
completed, as the medical personnel left a laparotomy sponge remaining
inside the plaintiff’s wife abdomen. This error led to severe complications
and ultimately to the death of this 58-year-old wife.

Medical Mistakes

The repercussions of medical mistakes are often intricate, and association
of these mistakes with distinct results is even more complex. Oftentimes
when medical mistakes occur it is difficult to prove that a particular
mistake led to a particular condition or end result.

Evidence in this case has shown that the Wright State Physicians group
acknowledges that a sponge was in fact left behind for approximately seven
months. The documents indicate that same surgeon attempted to take out
the sponge twice, but failed both times. However, the defense argues that
the remaining sponge did not cause death, but rather the woman died because
of her own complicated intestinal problems. Despite this, it is undeniable
that a serious mistake occurred during surgery which had ramifications
afterwards. These consequences are actionable and the injured party has
every right to pursue litigation.

Further information provides that the original surgeon was aware that the
sponge count was incorrect. He ordered an X-ray but never viewed it until
weeks later, at which time he attempted to remove the sponge twice and
even injured the woman’s spleen on one attempt. The patient was
sent to the Cleveland Clinic where a different surgeon finally removed
the sponge after a nine hour surgery.

Although the defense will argue that the plaintiff’s wife died because
of an ongoing history of health problems, there is no defense against
poor medical care. The woman suffered greatly at the hands of a surgeon
who seemingly was too confident to even view an X-ray that he ordered.

Preventing Surgical Error

Safety in all forms of health care is of utmost importance and perhaps
of even greater significance during surgical procedures. Surgeries carry
a greater risks of injury, infection, other forms of harm, and even death.

There are many protocols and procedures set in place to greatly reduce
the probability of
surgical errors. Medical staff has many check-points and consistently reconfirms all information,
including the surgical site. Equipment checks are also done to ensure
tools are clean and do not get left behind. It is vital that surgeons
do not have any distractions and are not rushed during the procedure.

In the case mentioned above, the medical staff was rotated because of the
length of the surgery, which presumably caused confusion. This is not
an acceptable reason as to why a patient should die from a surgery. The
doctor seems to have been aware that something was not correct, but was
later told everything was okay, and he decided not to double check.

Although hospitals and medicine in general has come a long way in preventing
surgical errors, there are still many things that need improving. Patient
safety is the most important thing, and addressing issues head-on will
continue to reduce errors.

Are you a Victim of Medical Malpractice?

If you or your loved one is a victim of medical malpractice, the Maryland
attorneys at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman & Offutt will represent you
and help you get the justice you deserve. We have collectively been helping
individuals for over seven decades in areas of surgical errors, medical
misdiagnosis, medical negligence, and other medical malpractice related
issues. We understand the difficulty and pain you are going through and
we will work with and for you to make this process as easy as possible.
If you’re interested in scheduling a free private consultation please
contact us
online 24/7.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.